ART

North Shattuck Association presents Chocolate & Chalk Art Festival on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at North Shattuck Ave., 1601 Shattuck Ave. @ Cedar St., Berkeley. Eat Chocolate & Make Art! Free! Chalk Art Contest cash prizes; Chocolate tasting tickets 20/$20. Street fair. Beer & Wine. ChocolateAndChalkArt.com Cost: Free Entry, Box of Chalk is $10/$20; Chocolate tasting 20 tickets/$20.  www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/chocolate-chalk-art/ or call (510) 334-6523

"Creative Contrasts" at the Moraga Art Gallery's New Show. Featuring the eye-catching work of two member artists: ceramicist Mary Leigh Miller and acrylic painter Angelica Samame. Running through Aug. 28, the show also contains paintings, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, glassware, etchings, woodwork, photographs, monotypes, and a great deal more by the gallery's core of 18 member artists and two guests. Free reception on Saturday, July 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. Open from noon until 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, 432 Center Street in Moraga's Rheem Shopping Center. www.moragaartgallery.com or call (925) 376-5407.

Art show at Orinda Books. July features beautiful paintings full of color and life by local artist Helen Ann Licht. Her works have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States and in Mexico City. She graduated with a B.A. with honors in Studio Art and Art History from the University of California in Berkeley and studied with some of the most important Californian painters, including Joan Brown, Karl Kasten, Elmer Bischoff, Jay DeFeo and Lundy Sigriest. Visit the Artist of the Month at www.orindabooks.com. Orinda Books is located at 276 Village Square, Orinda, 925-254-7606.

Looking for an easy craft to ward off summer boredom? Learn to make your own cute and personalizable accessories in this free online scrunchie program. Register at www.ccclib.org under online events, pick up a kit with everything included at the Lafayette Library, then attend the Zoom class on July 12 from 3:30-5 p.m. This program is run by Lily & Adelina, two local high-schoolers who want to spread their love of crafting.

Art Gallery at the Orinda Library – Lords of the Garden Drawings, Juxtamorph Sculpture, “You Are Here” Paintings and Photos from the Road Less Traveled. The Lamorinda Arts Council presents paintings which play with time by Carla Gelbaum, color-rich fairytale pen and ink animal drawings from Tim Hancock, photographs from the Road Less Traveled by Karl Stinson depicting fellow humans from far-away places and printed 3D Juxtamorph sculpture from Andrew Werby. Meet the artists at their reception on Saturday, July 9 from 3 – 5 p.m. where light refreshments will be served.

Art Gallery at Wilder – Reclaimed Wood Transformed with Patina and Imagination Grant Glossop’s woodturnings arise from found wood and metal on their journey to the Wilder Gallery from July 10 through Aug. 6. Meet the featured artist at his July 10 opening reception from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. where light refreshments will be served. Glossop will also demonstrate a variety of woodworking treatments including patination options at different stages of design completion. See https://lamorindaarts.org/current-exhibits-wilder/ for details.

Art Embraces Words - Live Program July 23 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Artists paint with colors, writers paint with words. Together they enrich our community. Missing your creative tribe? The Lamorinda Arts Council invites you to return to its free live program at the Lafayette Library. Emerging writers read from their work surrounded by artwork from local artists Pam Stefl and Alvin Ziegler. In this way art literally “embraces” the spoken word. AEW program dates are July 23, and Oct. 29 (Costume Program). We invite lovers of the spoken word and visual art, writers and visual artists to register online to participate. Reception follows outdoors in the Library Courtyard. Visit https://lamorindaarts.org/art-embraces-words/ for more information.

Music

Paper Moon Presents offers Brett Dennen at the beautiful Bruns in the Berkeley hills on Saturday, July 30, from 5 to 11 p.m., at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda. Come out and enjoy a night of sweet songs and good vibes with Brett Dennen and Megan Jacobs at a spectacular setting in the Berkeley hills. Cost: $40. Lyrics Born and Destani Wolf at the beautiful Bruns - Berkeley hills on Friday, July 29, from 5 to 11 p.m. Come join us for an amazing night of great local artists. It is going to be a best night ever with great food and great music in a perfect setting. Cost: $35. For more info see www.papermoonpresents.live or call (510) 517-2010 .

Lamorinda Idol Singers - July 14: Concert at Orinda Community Park 6 – 8 p.m. Hear talented young singers from Lamorinda Idol in the Orinda Community Park at a free concert. Visit https://lamorindaarts.org/lamorinda-idol-audition-information/ for details.

Live outdoor performance by Bay Area musician Andy Z and the Andyland Trio takes place on the courtyard of Creekside Commons, Tuesday, July 12 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Kids’ activities include face painting, balloon twisting, a kindness rock activity, a game area, snacks and drinks. While the event is free, donations are encouraged in advance or at the door and 10% of all donations go to support Soul Shoppe in their mission to help school communities cultivate a culture of compassion, connection and curiosity. Visit the events page at CreeksideCommons.org.

Theatre

Shotgun Players presents Dream Hou$e on July 9-10 and 14-16 at 8 p.m.; July 17 at 5 p.m.; July 20-Aug 7: Wed-Thurs at 7 p.m., Fri-Sat at 8 p.m., Sun at 5 p.m., at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave, Berkeley. A dark comedy about two Latinx sisters who land the opportunity to remodel and sell their historic family home on a popular reality television show. Cost: $7 - $40. For more info see https://shotgunplayers.org/online/
article/dream-house or call (510) 841-6500 x303 or email boxoffice@shotgunplayers.org.

Aurora Theatre Company presents Wives through July 24: Tuesday through Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Streaming July 19 - July 24, at Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley. From Hemingway's widow to a maharani in Rajasthan, great men are left behind as their wives claim center stage in this celebration of female power. Cost: 40-75. For more info see www.auroratheatre.org/ or call (510) 843-4822 or email boxoffice@auroratheatre.org.

Literature

Thursday, July 7, 11 a.m. at Orinda Books. Pat's Book Club will read and discuss "The Netanyahus" by Joshua Cohen. Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Literature, "The Netanyahus" is a fictionalized account of Harold Bloom's encounter with the Netanyahu family while studying at Yale. Mixing fiction with nonfiction, "The Netanyahus" is a wildly inventive, genre-bending comedy of identity and politics. Everyone is welcome; just email info@orindabooks to let us know you're coming.

Dave Iverson will introduce his memoir, "Winter Stars," at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 9 at Orinda Books. Iverson was a busy broadcast journalist recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when he decided to do something he'd never quite imagined: He moved in to take care of his 95-year-old mom. Winter Stars is the moving story of their 10-year caregiving journey. This is a free event. Register at: www.eventbrite.com/e/dave-iverson-author-of-winter-stars-tickets-361207861437

Other

Sunday Strong! Free summer fitness classes at Moraga Commons. Presented by MCF, with the sponsorship of the Town of Moraga Department of Parks and Recreation. This program is free and will be held every Sunday in July at 8 a.m. on the grassy area near the intersection of St. Mary's Road and Moraga Road. Schedule: July 10 Flow Yoga; July 17 Mat Pilates; July 24 Bootcamp. See Moragacommunityfoundation.org to register and see our amazing instructor's bios.

The Ecology Center will host Plastic Free July, a month-long series of interactive and educational events throughout Berkeley. The event line up includes: Your Zero Waste Home a live waste auditing demonstration on July 9 at the Ecology Center Store & Resource Center (2530 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley); Plastic Free Pop-Ups at the South Berkeley Farmers’ Market on July 19 and at the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market on July 30; and a workshop on gardening sustainably and without plastic on July 23 at the Ecology Center EcoHouse (1305 Hopkins St, Berkeley). Full schedule of events at: www.ecologycenter.org/plastic-free-july/

Mocktails & Cocktails – Sunday, July 24 from 3 to 5 p.m. Join others who love art, literature, music and everything in between at The Coop, 32 Lafayette Circle from 3-5 p.m. Time for some artsy banter with Ani Breslin and Elana O’Loskey of the Lamorinda Arts Council. No host bar. Just show up. Questions? Email literary@lamorindaarts.org.